Nature Immunology - Current issue : October 2008 - Vol 9 No 10
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Article of the month
Virulent strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cause necrotic death of infected macrophages, which promotes bacterial dissemination. Remold and colleagues demonstrate that mycobacteria actively inhibit formation of the apoptotic envelope on macrophages, thus causing necrosis.
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News & Views by Jacobs & PorcelliAdvance online publication
Balancing Il17 expression
Article by ZhangThe transcriptional regulation of Il17 expression is not well understood. Strober and colleagues identify conserved noncoding sequences that, by a mechanism dependent on differential binding of Runx1 to RORγt and Foxp3, regulate Il17 expression.
Advance online publication
pDC MHC II processing
Article by YoungThe antigen-presenting abilities of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (DCs) are not well characterized. Villadangos and colleagues show that unlike conventional DCs, plasmacytoid DCs continue to synthesize and degrade MHC class II molecules, and thereby present endogenous viral antigen, after activation.
Current issue
Alarming proteases
Article by El ChamyMicrobial sensors activate the Toll pathway in flies. Reichhart and colleagues identify the serine protease Grass, which acts in parallel with Persephone to cleave Toll-activating Spätzle in response to Gram-positive bacteria and fungi.
Current issue
Death sensor Mincle
Article by YamasakiThe C-type lectin family member Mincle is expressed mainly on macrophages. Saito and colleagues show that the nuclear protein SAP130, released by dead cells, is a ligand of Mincle that drives proinflammatory cytokine production by macrophages.
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News & Views by BrownCurrent issue
Calcium and DC migration
Article by BarbetHow calcium signaling affects dendritic cell (DC) maturation and/or migration is unclear. Launay and colleagues show that absence of the TRPM4 cation channel impairs DC migration but leaves DC maturation unaltered.